Grain elevator



Oct. 3, 1950 L. J. HODGES 2,524,169

GRAIN ELEVATOR Filed March 14, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Invent/1r LLOYD J; #00655 v WWI/1;,

L. J. HODGES GRAIN ELEVATOR Oct. 3, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14, 1946 I. M 0 M 0 a 0 H D Q J. mm mm v m/ u W w w w m WW \K N mm \M m Q m & mm s v at Q MGR Q Q Q R. mw Q.f\1 J w km N 5R N & v

Patented Oct. 3, 1950 OFFICE 2,524,169 GRAIN ELEVATOR Lloyd J. Hodges, Julesburg, Colo. Application March 14, 1946, Serial No. 654,331

1 :Claim. (01. 198213) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in grain elevators designed for loading grain and other loose material from the ground into a truck or bin, or for other purposes.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a device of this character embodying a tube for an auger or screw conveyor and pivotally mounting the tube in an off-balanced position on a mast or other suitable support whereby the intake end of the conveyor may rest upon a pile of grain or other loose material and gravitate downwardly to maintain the intake end of the conveyor in contact with the material as the pile of material is reduced in size.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efficient and reliable in use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view.

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the discharge end of the elevator.

Figures 4 and 5 are transverse sectional views taken respectively on the lines 4-4 and 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section of the intake end of the elevator drawn to an enlarged scale and taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 2, and V Figure '7 is a view in transverse section taken on the line 1-! of Figure 6.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 5 designates a mast or tower preferably of open frame construction and supported on wheels or casters 6 for moving the mast to a desired position.

A pair of bearing brackets 1 are secured to the top of the mast and project upwardly therefrom in the ends of which are pivotally supported the trunnions 8 of a split collar 9, the split section of the collar being secured in clamping relation about an elevator tube by means of bolts II.

A bore l2 extends transversely in the upper section of the collar 9 and through the trunnions 8 and in which is journalled a shaft I3 having pulleys l4 and I secured to the ends thereof.

upper portion of the mast 5 A motor I 6 is mounted on a platform I! at the for driving the pulley 15 by means ofa belt I8.

Th conveyor tube l llis secured in the collar 9 in an olf-balancedposition to provide relatively long and short ends l9 and respectively, the longend of the tubeconstituting the intake end While the short end constitutes the discharge end.

An auger type conveyor or screw 2| is journalled in the ends of the tube ID, the rear end of the auger having a bevel gear 22 secured thereto enclosed in a gear housing '23 secured to the rear or discharge end of the tube and driven by a gear 24 secured on a shaft 25 journalled in the housing and projecting outwardly at one side thereof. A pulley26 is secured to the outer end of the shaft 25 and is driven by a belt 21 from the pulley M.

The intake end of the tube II] is provided with upper and lower intake openings 28 and 29 and the underside of the tube at its discharge end is also provided with a discharge opening 30. At the intake end of the tube H], the auger, or screw, 2| is provided in substantially the first two convolutions thereof with an edge strip 2 la welded thereon as at 22b and inclining laterally from said convolutions in the direction of rotation of said auger, or screw, at substantially an angle of 45. The strip 2la facilitates picking up the grain or other material and thus increases the capacity of the conveyor. A shield 3| is secured to the underside of the tube In at the inner edge of the discharge opening 30. p

In the operation of the device, the mast or tower 5 is moved into a position adjacent a pile or stack of grain or other loose material 32 and with the intake end of the tube Ill resting on top of the pile and with the discharge opening 30 positioned above a truck, bin or other receptacle 33.

As the auger 2! is operated by the motor l6 through the belt and pulleys l4, l5, I8, 26 and 21 the material will be elevated in the tube In and discharged from the opening 3|] into the truck.

As the pile of grain 32 decreases in size the off-balanced longerend l 9 of the tube will gravitate downwardly so that the intake end of the tube will be constantly maintained in contact with the pile of grain until substantially the entire pile has been loaded onto the truck.

A semi-cylindrical cover 34 is slidably carried at the underside of the tube In at its intake end for covering the lower intake opening 29, when desired, the cover 34 being formed at its upper edges with inwardly and downwardly bent flanges 35 adapted to ride on channel-shaped tracks 36 secured to th sides of the tube I0.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of theappended claim.

What I claim as my invention is:

An elevator comprising a mast having a pair of upright brackets rising therefrom, a collar having side trunnions journaled in said brackets and pivotally suspending the collar between said brackets, aconveyor tube extending through said .collar in off-balanced position whereby one end will gravitate toward the ground, said end of the tube having top and bottom intake openings therein,.an auger typeconveyor journaled in said tube and provided on convolutions thereof opposite said openings with a lip extending along said convolutions and inclined laterally thereof to pick up material entering said openings, a motor on said mast, a driven shaft extending through said trunnions, a belt and pulley drive between said motor and one end of said shaft, a cross shaft on the rear end of said tube geared to said conveyor, and a belt and pulley drive between the other end of the driven shaft and said cross shaft.

' LLOYD J. HODGES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED sTA'tEs PATENTS Number Name Date 68,293 Erkenbrecher Aug. 27, 1867 961,958 Hartley June 21, 1910 1,562,842 Milne Nov. 24, 1925 1,618,338 Hoffman Feb. 22, 1927 1,867,245 Bailey July 12, 1932 2,290,039 Ford July 14, 1942 2,395,410 Kaesler Feb. 26, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 404,681 Germany Oct. 20, 1924 

